The Path to Destiny: Tia's Folly (18 page)

           
Tia’s denial was immediate, “Najia killed Roland? That
isn’t even possible.”

           
Looking around at the others in the room, Tia felt the
weight of the truth pressing down on her heart. Her knees collapsed as she
realized Roland had died for Najia. Tears slid down her face and her heart
ached to know she was now on her own.

           
“Najia wouldn’t hurt Roland!” She insisted, unable to
tell them why she knew this to be the truth.

All
the Elders really knew about her and Roland’s murders were the bare facts. They
had died at Bylan’s hand and the Gods had decided they weren’t done with their
destinies. Reborn back into their bodies, the Gods had given them eternal
youthfulness, and a very clear picture – that they weren’t allowed to share –
of what was required of them.

           
“I am sorry, Tia,” Uren painfully knelt on his knees and
gathered her into his wizened arms. “It is a hard truth, but it is the truth.”

           
No one spoke as Tia cried into Uren’s robes. After two
centuries together, she wasn’t sure she knew how to live without Roland.
Remembering the Elders had called on her because they thought Najia had killed
Roland, Tia forced herself to calm down and analyze the situation. They would
feel compelled to do something and no matter how much it hurt to know Roland
was gone, she knew she needed to pull herself together and ask what they
believed had happened.

           
Snapping her head up, Tia blurted, “Where is Najia? Is
she hurt? What happened?”

           
The Elder’s shared long looks with each other and Tia was
forced to reign in her anger as she realized she was just a pawn in some game
of deception. Knowing she had no choice but to play her part, she prepared
herself to listen to the lies. Somehow, through the lies she would eventually
discover who had actually killed Roland. Tia’s heart sank lower yet as it
occurred to her that someone had actually tried to kill Najia.

           
“Tia, I was not there, but I swear I will relay it just
as the witnesses told it to me.” Uren looked into her eyes sympathetically.
“Are you sure you are ready for this?”

           
“I have to know. She is my child, my responsibility. I
must know what happened!” She said it a little more vehemently than she meant
to.

           
“Okay, Tia. I will tell you. But please be patient with
me. Listen to what I have to say in its entirety and I promise I will answer
the questions I can.” He began his true and false story as gently as he could.
“Najia was playing with some of the other girls, and she told them someday she
would have a lot of children. Some young boys, who were playing nearby,
overheard and started teasing the girls about playing with dolls and already
wanting babies.

           
“Turk decided to confront Najia; he told her that she
would never be allowed to have children. He is almost ten years old and I swear
I don’t know where he heard this but, he told her the Gods didn’t make her, and
he told her the Gods would never gift a soulless being with a child. Najia was
very upset by this and told Turk that he was wrong, and that someday maybe she
would have
his
baby. Turk was very
upset by that response!

           
“He then claimed the only reason she was living with the
Druids was so we could keep her away from the rest of the lands until she died.
Apparently, he said it was a huge mistake to try to keep her because she is
evil and will eventually kill everyone alive. Turk told her she was made to
kill the children of the lands.”

           
Tia hoped this part wasn’t true, she hoped no child could
be this cruel. Her heart ached for Najia and she wondered where her little girl
was. Even if only a little of this was true, Najia would need her Mama Tia for
comfort. Looking around the room, Tia watched as Druids shifted their eyes from
her to the door. The nervous behavior worried her but there was nothing she
could do until Uren finished his tale and told her where Najia was.

           
“I promise Turk’s family will also be punished.” Uren
shook his head in disbelief. “There is no way a ten year old boy thought that
up and I will look into this deeper. But you need to know that Turk told Najia
she is a monster; a man-made
evil
monster.”

           
Tia’s heart sank even lower and her heart bled for Najia.
Nodding her head to encourage Uren to continue, she felt a little sick to her
stomach to think that all of this had been perpetrated on a four year old girl.
The Elders had something to do with this, she was sure, but she was shocked
that her great race was so threatened by her small child.

           
“Her Phoenix blood was revealed to her today Tia.” Uren
paused as if unsure how to continue. “She…her hair started on fire…but it
didn’t burn.
 
It wasn’t like the Phoenix
though; this was like nothing I have ever seen. Her hair started to burn a pale
purple color, not red like the Phoenix. Her eyes glowed, just like the Dragons
did in before the war, a ghostly green. Her skin pulsated with fire, her
clothing burned from her body leaving her unscathed. She screamed at Turk, over
and over, until he fell to the ground screaming in pain, holding his head.

           
“Roland ran to her and tried to grab her. The second he
got near, he burst into flames. People ran and grabbed buckets of water to try
to save him,” Uren’s voice trembled as he recounted the tale, “From all
accounts; Roland was dead before he hit the ground. Najia was also doused with
water until the fire went out. She fell unconscious to the ground and though we
can see she is breathing…everyone, including me, is afraid to go near her.”

           
“You cowards left a little girl, lying naked, in a puddle
of water?” Tia nearly shrieked in outrage. “Where is she?”

           
 
“Tia, there is
more.” Uren reached out to grab her arm.

           
“Roland, my bonded, is dead! Najia, my child, is lying
unconscious! Not a single Druid would help either of them,” Tia exploded. “What
else could there be?”

           
“It isn’t safe for her to be here anymore. For the sake
of the village, we have decided to banish her. She cannot be here.”
 
Uren kept his gaze on hers as the other
Elders – who had remained silent until now - chimed in.

           
“She is a danger to us all!”

           
“She killed Roland and she is only four!”

           
“We don’t know if Turk will survive what she did to him!”

           
“Face it; she was born to be a killer!”

           
Tears of frustration welled in Tia’s eyes as she faced
the Elders. “Her banishment will result in mine.”

           
“The Gods demanded this of you,
not us
!” a woman declared with a hiss. “You say you will not die
before your appointed time but Roland wasn’t supposed to either! If she is that
strong that she can overcome the Gods decree, what chance do
we
have against her?!”

           
“We are sorry!” Uren cried out, deliberately stopping the
woman’s tirade. “Maybe we should summon the Falkeries. They will take her Tia;
she is safer with them than she will ever be with us.”

           
“No!” Tia yelled, outraged by the suggestion. “She is my
destiny! I will never see Roland in the Afterworld if I refuse my destiny
again!
I will leave and take her far
away.
I will teach her
!”

           
As Tia fled the hut in search of Najia, she wondered what
the true story was.
I will give my life
when the Gods show me it is time.
Roland’s words haunted her as she scooped
her naked, unconscious child out of the mud.

           
Racing back to her own dwelling, Tia quickly gave Najia a
sponge bath and redressed her. She knew it wouldn’t be long before the people
of the village were at her door demanding Najia leave their town. As fast as
she could, she threw all the supplies she could gather into sacks and saddle
bags.

           
Jumping at the knock on her door, she hesitantly answered
it and was relieved to see Uren with a horse.

           
“Are you almost ready Tia?” Her mentor looked every year
of his age – two-hundred and seventy-eight – as he watched her gather her
meager belongings and load them onto the dilapidated horse she was being given.

           
“Do I have a choice?” She asked wryly.

           
Shaking his head, he opted to remain silent as he
remained outside and held the horse for her.

           
“She
didn’t
kill
Roland.” Tia glared into Uren’s faded brown eyes as she carefully mounted the
horse with Najia – who was still unconscious – in her arms.

           
“You’re blinded by your love for her-”

           
“No!” Tia cut him off vehemently. “I know she didn’t and
I know she couldn’t.”

           
“You don’t hear the Gods clearly,” Uren shook his head at
her. “How could you possibly know?”

           
Angry beyond belief that her mentor didn’t believe her,
Tia snatched the reins from his grasp and left without another word. Determined
not to cry, she held her chin up high and headed to the one place she could
think of that the Phoenix wouldn’t look for her daughter…the site of the Great
Battle; her birth place.

***

Three years
later

           
“It isn’t fair!” Najia yelled in Tia’s resigned face as
she stormed out of the house.

           
Tia jumped as the door slammed behind Najia, surprised by
the physical strength she already had at almost eight years old. She wished she
could bring Najia with her but the Elders had
banished
her from Druid land. Even though the incident had happened
when Najia was
only
four years old,
they refused to relent and were adamant still about keeping her away from the
Druid children. Turk appeared to be fine but he was so different from the other
children, the Elders still didn’t understand what had happened to him that day.

Finished
with preparing the small lunch she had made, Tia set some aside for Najia and
Faye. It was a small meal because they were running low on just about
everything she herself couldn’t grow, raise, or make. Unfortunately, she had to
go get supplies from time to time and that meant Najia had to be left behind with
Faye.

Taking
stock of the withered apples from the last growing season and her nearly empty
storage jars, she mentally noted what she needed. It was hard to know what they
would need for six months at a time. That first winter, she had grossly
miscalculated. If it hadn’t been for Faye…well, she may have had to attempt the
journey to the Falkerie City in the dead of winter – and that was nearly
impossible.

Faye
had shown up, riding her Unicorn – in the middle of a ferocious winter storm
–with a sled full of food and supplies. Tia had literally been eating the
scraps of food from Najia’s plate to make the little they had left stretch for
as long as possible. She had been so weak and exhausted from the lack of food
that Faye had stayed for a whole month to make sure she didn’t fall ill.

Sighing,
Tia shook her head at herself. If it wasn’t for the Falkeries, she
wouldn’t
have lasted this long. That
first year they had built this house for her and Najia. They always insisted
Tia was welcome to come back to live outside of their city but Tia wanted Najia
to learn more about herself and her magic before she was exposed to so many
people again.

 
Armond – a male Falkerie who often accompanied
Faye - had always insisted Tia should learn to defend herself with a weapon but
really, what good was a weapon if the Phoenix found them? She knew she should
have learned how to hunt or at least butcher an animal larger than a chicken,
but she just didn’t have the stomach.

A
soft knock interrupted her thoughts and Tia turned just as Faye entered the
house.

“Hello,”
Tia smiled warmly, genuinely happy to see her.

The
women hugged each other and sat down to eat the meal Tia provided. Najia – who
they decided to leave outside to stew in her tantrum - proved to be an endless
source of conversation for the pair and the meal passed pleasantly. After they
had finished, they cleared the table and did the dishes.

“So,”
Tia knew she had to warn Faye, “Najia is very upset at being left behind this
year.”

“Are
you honestly surprised?” Faye asked with a gentle smile.